Where Good Driving Starts.
Where Good 
Tom enjoys the wide variety of different people he meets as a driving instructor in Christchurch and working with them to find the very best way for them to learn. He naturally puts his pupils at ease and he knows that learning works best when the pupil is happy and interested. For this reason, Tom encourages pupils to put the right mix of skills and topics into a lesson to keep it interesting throughout. Tom takes pride in adapting his lessons to the performance of the pupil on the day. He understands that pupils will learn some skills faster than others and continuously adjusts the pace of the lesson to suit them. He specially enjoys the point at the end of a lesson when a student can look back and see the improvements they have made.
Tom moved to the area from the Lake District more than 20 years ago, from a beautiful (but rainy) part of the country to another beautiful part of the country where it rains much less. He has spent much of that time working in large corporations which had strong focus on developing people skills. He often led training sessions both for groups and individuals. Tom is now experienced at using as many techniques as possible to transfer knowledge and skills. Combine that with his long held interest in motoring (but don’t expect him to be excited by anything made after 1980) and becoming a driving instructor in Christchurch was an obvious career choice.
His two kids have reached the age when they are still at home but never around, and are really looking forwards to free driving lessons! In his free time Tom really enjoys coaching the juniors at a local kayak club and exploring this lovely part of the country. He enjoys paddling his sea kayak along the Jurassic coast or peddling his bike around the new forest. He enjoys playing Bridge too.
Tom has recently completed his Instructional training with our Director of Training and successfully completed the final qualifying exam.
After moving to Dorset, Al chose YES! Driving School for his Driving Instructor Training and hasn’t looked back since. Al is a friendly and dedicated instructor with a calm, understanding manner and has a patient approach that helps put pupils at ease. He is keen to achieve and maintain the best standards as a driving instructor in Broadstone and the surrounding areas.
What makes the job so interesting for Al is that no two pupils are the same, and neither are their needs. His genuine curiosity for what his pupils are thinking and feeling, helps him to tailor his lessons and teaching styles to suit each pupil, finding the best way for them to learn. Al sees learning to drive as a partnership between pupil and instructor and encourages them to have an involvement in decision making as much as possible. As a driving instructor in Broadstone, he aims to create an atmosphere that allows pupils to achieve solid learning, but at the same time allows them to not worry about being judged when they do make mistakes.
Safe & Respectful Driving
Importantly, Al prides himself on being a safe and respectful driver. Passing these qualities on to his pupils lies at the heart of everything that he teaches. He firmly believes these are qualities that are essential to making a well-rounded, competent and responsible driver for life.
Life before and beyond
Originally from the Midlands, Al lived and worked for several years in London as a Graphic Designer where he enjoyed designing for companies ranging from international brands to local businesses. From this he gained valuable experience of how to work with and adapt to a wide range of people. He moved to Dorset in the mid 2010’s to find somewhere to put down long term roots. Having worked in the design industry for several years he decided he wanted a career t that was more fulfilling, and people orientated. Having always been passionate for all things motoring becoming a driving instructor was a perfect fit.
In his free time you can find him foraging deep in the forest or out on a long country walk – or if it’s raining he’s quite happy with one of his cats on his lap with a good film.
Alastair has completed and passed all of the qualifying tuition and tests so far and is now on a trainee licence aiming towards his final qualifying test. As such, many of his lessons will be monitored by our Director of Training, Pete Wilkinson.
Pete joined YES! Driving School when he moved to Dorset and chose YES! Driving School from many others. YES! Driving School made it easy for Pete to become a driving instructor in Blandford.
As part of his 22 years in the Army, Pete was an Instructor of various subjects for 21 years of this service. In this time, Pete realised that he had the ability to understand what makes an individual tick. Additionally, he learned how to get the best from each one. He now puts this ability together with the latest coaching techniques. This makes your learning experience an easy, stress free and fun time.
Pete believes that the Pupil should have a major say in their learning experience and any decisions made about the pace and direction of training should be a team effort. As a Trainer at heart, Pete is passionate about training. He takes great pleasure from seeing people progress in life and relishes in the excitement of Test Day. He has a great ability in putting his pupils at ease and giving a great sense of self-belief. This helps on Test Day and also in preparation for solo driving once the Pupil becomes a Full Licence Holder.
A strong knowledge of all test areas in Bournemouth, Poole, Dorchester and Salisbury ensures easy learning.
Always looking for self-improvement, Pete took the Advanced Driving Test assessed by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) and achieved a Gold Award, the highest standard awarded. He has since retested with the same result and also went on to successfully complete the RoSPA Tutors Assessment. Pete aims to provide more than the basic levels as a Driving Instructor in Blandford and surrounding areas.
Pete also provides a structured programme of Instructor Training. If you’re interested in becoming a Driving Instructor, click here.
More recently, Pete completed his Standards Check with the DVSA and was Graded ‘A’, scoring the maximum score possible with 51/51. Top Result!
Mark joined YES! Driving School in April 2017. He considered many other driving schools, then chose YES! as the stand out, professional and friendliest driving school in Dorset.
Mark served for 26 years in the Royal Marines and has served all around the world. During his time in the Royal Marines, Mark held various instructional positions. Aside from his military qualifications, he is an experienced instructor for Skiing, Rugby and Polo. A member of the Institute of Advanced Motorists, he has also received driver training in a variety of different driving styles. These include Off-road, rallying, evasive driving and he has successfully completed the Police advanced driving course.
Mark takes a client centred approach to training. He believes that when a student understands the ‘How & Why’ and applies that during learning, progress and success can come quickly. Learning to drive can be daunting and Mark can still remember the first time he went 30mph. Therefore he ensures that all lessons are conducted in a relaxed no nonsense style, working together as a team to ensure lesson goals are achieved.
Mark has lived in Dorset for over 27 years so will always find you some appropriate and challenging driving routes. This will advance your skills and develop your driving experience.
As part of YES! Driving School’s mission to promote ‘Better Driving Starts Here’, Mark has reviewed and updated our trailer training course to better meet your flexible training needs.
Mark recently furthered his own skills by successfully achieving a Gold standard on the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) Advanced Driving Test. He is also now on the RoSPA Tutor List. He uses these advanced skills to make YES! Driving School the most up to date driving school in Dorset.
Before moving to Dorset Susan lived and taught in South-West London. She now lives in Boscombe with her three children, her partner and a Dalmatian. Susan operates as a female automatic driving instructor. She covers the areas of Christchurch, Bournemouth and Poole – a wide area, because she can’t say “no”, when asked nicely.
Susan has also successfully completed the Mobility Course with QEF. This has given her an in depth knowledge of adaptations and techniques to be used to enable people with a variety of disabilities to be successful at driving.
Sues motoring career started when she marshalled at various motorbike events from club races to GPs. When occasionally asked if she’d ever get scared when teaching, Sue likes to reply that “nothing is as scary as a riderless motorbike hurtling towards you with only a straw bale (or another marshal) for protection!” In other words, Sue is still looking for the student who’d give her a challenge ;).
Apart from that, Sue loves teaching in Dorset as the roads are so varied compared to South London roads. Please ask for Sue if you want lessons that are fun and in a relaxed atmosphere.
